Going cashless in Australia

"Going cashless" is becoming ever more popular in China, as people take to paying for things through apps on their phones.

WeChat and Alipay are two major online payment platforms in China, and now they're beginning to spread to the rest of world.

We sent our Australian correspondent out to the streets of Sydney to see how the roll-out is going there.

SOUNDBITE(ENGLISH): LEVI J PARSONS, CNC correspondent

"Although e-commerce platforms such as Alipay and WeChat are not widespread in Australia, many Sydney businesses are beginning to adopt the new payment method, and today we are at the N2 ice cream store to see what we can buy on our phone."

N2 ice cream in Sydney, has been among the first to adopt e-commerce as a payment method - and its store manager wants more Australians to start trying the convenient alternative.

SOUNDBITE(ENGLISH): LEVI J PARSONS, CNC correspondent

"So it's a very easy and convenient way to pay for things and it means you don't have to drag your wallet with you. I think it's going to become much more widespread across Sydney and the rest of Australia.

So why did you decide to adopt Alipay?"

SOUNDBITE(ENGLISH): Store Manager

"Because it's the way forward. Firstly, we are located in Chinatown and there are lots of tourists and what not.In terms of payment options, we take cash, we take credit card, debit card but we thought it would be awesome to take other forms of payment."

SOUNDBITE(ENGLISH): LEVI J PARSONS, CNC correspondent

"And how many people are using Alipay as their payment method?"

SOUNDBITE(ENGLISH): Store manager

"We get quite a few a week, so we are actually quite impressed with the uptake of Alipay."

SOUNDBITE(ENGLISH): LEVI J PARSONS, CNC correspondent

"Do you think we will see more Australians take up Alipay and other e-commerce platforms?"

SOUNDBITE(ENGLISH): Store manager

"I hope so, I certainly hope so, Australians are quite ahead in contactless payments, but I think it’s time to take the next step."

SOUNDBITE(ENGLISH): LEVI J PARSONS, CNC correspondent

"This is the first ice cream I've bought with Alipay, and it's very good."